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 The Shaker Mill - West Stockbridge, MA Posted by:  neoc1
N 42° 20.078 W 073° 22.101
18T E 634420 N 4688220
Th Shaker Mill is a former grist mill, now converted into a bookstore, is located at 3 Depot Street in West Stockbridge, MA
Waymark Code: WM14P56
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 08/04/2021
Views: 2
A sign on the front of the Shaker Mill gives a detailed history of the structure. It is inscribed:
THE SHAKER MILL
The Mohican (Stockbridge-Munsee) Indians leased this land
in 1763 to early West Stockbridge settler Elijah Williams, who
built a dam on the river and an iron forge on its east bank.
In 1805, a local attorney and land speculator, Enoch W. Thayer,
moved two barns to the site and joined them together to create
the present structure, a grist mill.
The Tyringham Shaker Community purchased the property in 1818
and continued operating it as a grist mill until selling it in 1851.
A subsequent owner, an early adopter of electricity, harnessed the
energy of the Williams River in 1909 to power the mill and
provide the town with its first electric lights. A riverside extension
of the building, which housed the power and grinding machinery,
was later razed.
The mill was purchased in 1933 by Arthur Baldwin, who converted
it into a hardware, feed and lumber enterprise. For several decades
beginning in the 1970's, the building housed an antiques business.
In 2013, the Shaker Mill (known locally for generations as The Barn)
and adjacent building were purchased by a long-time Berkshire
bookseller. The newer (to your right) houses an extensive
collection af used, rare and out-of-print books. And the venerable
old mill, continuing its evolution, now features unusual books and
book-related art, whimsically displayed where once were
milestones and grain bins and flour sacks.
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Current Status: Still In Use
Current Use: Bookstore
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